Evolve T100 Thermostat "Device NOT Responding"

Other Devices & Integrations Climate Control & Temperature Sensors
1

I’ve had the Vera system for about a year. I have installed the “kit” thermostat that came with it (Evolve T100R). It worked fine for a few months, and recently I’m getting consistent “Device NOT Responding” errors (see below).

The thermostat is about 30ft away from the Vera unit. Could this be a distance issue? It seems to have happened after one of the recent firmware updates (7.0.10). I am on the latest 7.0.11 now.

Also, I installed a WiFi access point about half way between the Vera and the thermostat, could WiFi interfere with Z-Wave?

21/10/2015 10:47:59 PM Device NOT responding Thermostat Device status
21/10/2015 6:33:17 PM Device responding again Thermostat Device status
21/10/2015 4:48:21 PM Device NOT responding Thermostat Device status
21/10/2015 4:47:54 PM Device responding again Thermostat Device status
20/10/2015 10:48:12 PM Device NOT responding Thermostat Device status
20/10/2015 10:47:59 PM Device responding again Thermostat Device status
20/10/2015 4:48:07 PM Device NOT responding Thermostat Device status
20/10/2015 4:47:55 PM Device responding again Thermostat Device status
19/10/2015 4:48:38 PM Device NOT responding Thermostat Device status
19/10/2015 4:47:56 PM Device responding again Thermostat Device status

2

I should also add; there is a Z-Wave Door Lock (Yale) that is about 1/2 way distance between the thermostat and the Vera. Since Z-Wave is supposed to be a mesh, shouldn’t this help if it is a distance issue?

3

I fixed the issue by moving the Vera controller much closer to the Thermostat. This seems to have made the communication much more consistent. I have no idea why it worked for many months without issue. I thought Z-Wave was much more robust than that, especially considering it is “mesh”, and my door lock (which was 1/2 way between the controller and the thermostat) would work consistently.

Also: I noticed that in the newest firmware, there is no longer a “heal” option for the Z-Wave network.

4

Your notifications seem to have a pattern…

Do the times on the events correspond to the heating/cooling system turning on???

This may indicate that the 24VAC transformer on your heating systems is in the process of failing. If the transformer is not putting out the correct voltage/current, it could cause reduced radio range and intermittent radio outages.

5

That is a good thought, and I will check next time I am up there (it is a remote property).

However, since I moved the Vera Controller to a more central location in the house, I have not had one disconnect occur, despite the system both running, and off.